Free The Wish by Gail Carson Levine

stupid, which was what I was making Ardis feel.
    â€œMaybe I like animals too much,” I said finally. “I only lasted two nights in sleep-away camp.”
    Her tuned-out look vanished. “Why?”
    â€œBecause I missed our dog, Curly. We had her before Reggie.”
    â€œWhat happened to Curly?”
    â€œShe got old.” I still wanted to cry when I thought about Curly. “We got Reggie a week after she died. I couldn’t stand not having a dog.”
    Ardis laughed. “I couldn’t stand having one.” Then she said, “My grandmother got sick a year ago. She’s better now, but I was scared. I’d miss her . . . a lot.”
    She kept doing that—putting herself in the other person’s shoes. She might not understand animals, but she understood how people felt. If we couldn’t be friends when the spell ended—if it ended—I was really going to miss her.
    We reached the entrance to the park, and Reggie started pulling.
    â€œWe always run in,” I called over my shoulder.
    She caught up, and we ran to Sheep Meadow. And there was Celeste, the dalmatian I had sniffed in my essay. I waved to Burton, Celeste’s owner, and let go of Reggie’s leash. He bounded to her.
    â€œDoes that dog bite?” Ardis asked.
    â€œCeleste is doggie sugar, just like Reggie.”
    While we stood there, she asked me a million questions about Reggie and dogs in general. Did Curly ever bite anyone? How much did Reggie weigh? Why did we get such a big dog? Was I scared of pit bulls? Did anybody ever bother me when I was out with Reggie, and did it protect me?
    â€œHe’s a he,” I said. “He’s not an ‘it.’” I hated when people did that.
    â€œSorry,” she said. “Did he ever protect you?”
    â€œHe never needed to. He likes people so much, I don’t know if he’d realize somebody was trying to hurt me. He might think we were just playing.”
    On the way home, Ardis said, “Can I hold his leash?”
    I gave it to her. It was safe. He doesn’t pull on the way back from a walk.
    She took it for a second while Reggie sniffed a lamppost, and then she got scared again. But after she gave it back to me, she said, “Did I do it right? Do you think anybody might have thought I was his owner?”
    â€œThey might have.”
    â€œYou must think I’m a wimp.”
    â€œYou’re not a wimp. I’m scared of lots of things.” I took a deep breath. “I’m scared people won’t like me.”
    â€œThat’s crazy. Nina would take points off. Everybody thinks you’re great.” She paused. “I think you are.”
    â€œThanks.” I wished the spell could drop away, just for a minute or two, so I could see if I was getting anywhere, if she honestly thought I was even a tiny bit great.
    â€œArdis . . . what makes somebody popular, do you think?”
    She thought for a minute. “I wouldn’t tell this to anybody but you, and you have to swear to keep it a secret.”
    I nodded. “I swear. I won’t tell.”
    She didn’t look at me while she spoke. “Well, you know I went to elementary school in Chicago, where we lived before.”
    I hadn’t known. I didn’t know her till we started at Claverford.
    â€œI was the least popular kid in my class. Nobody liked me. I was taller than anybody else, and they called me The Mountain.”
    She knew what it was like. It was hard to believe.
    â€œThen, before I started at Claverford, my dad said I could make it different here. So the first day, when we were all new, I figured it was my chance. I was friendly to everybody.”
    â€œHold on.” Reggie had stopped to pee, and Ardis had gotten ahead of me.
    We started walking again, and she went on. “I smiled at everyone. I felt like a fake, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I said ‘hi.’ I